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Fynny: Building a one-stop debt relief app with 30% better task success

Improved financial task success by 30% by streamlining fragmented debt management into one personalized platform. Designed personalized onboarding, centralized debt tracking, and actionable financial tools tailored to diverse user behaviors.

Timeline

September 2024 to January 2025

Industry

Finance B2C

Typology of Project

Mobile UI and Research

Team

Client CEO, Dev Team, 4 UX Designers, NL Government Stakeholders

Tools

Figma, Optimal Workshop, Hotjar, Maze, Miro

My Role

I led the end-to-end process of user research, defining interaction flows, crafting visual design, building prototypes, and conducting usability testing to deliver a streamlined and user-centered product experience.

Role Specifics

Built the information architecture and co-created core user flows
Led generative + formative research
Conducted interviews with youth, social workers, and municipality debt experts
Launched the initial design system
Facilitated MVP planning with client and development teams
Tested usability with card sorting, A/B testing, and task success tracking

Outcomes

The Challenge

"I receive so many letters with different debt deadlines from various agencies. I don’t know what I owe, who I owe it to, or when I need to pay them."

• Young adults in the Netherlands—especially those aged 18–35—struggle to manage debt caused by unpaid health insurance premiums.
• They receive communications across disconnected channels (letters, emails, agencies), making it hard to understand what’s owed, when to pay, or who to pay.
• Many feel ashamed to seek help, and lack tools that speak to their diverse financial behaviors.

Stakeholder Concerns & Key business objectives

Improve repayment outcomes for debt collection partners

Increase sponsor engagement through demonstrable user benefit

Ensure long-term product scalability and legal feasibility

We needed to design a product that would serve users’ mental models while aligning with business models rooted in public service and funding support.

The Solution

I co-designed Fynny as the first mobile app to unify fragmented debt communications, enable personalized debt management, and guide users through actionable financial steps.

It features:

A personalized onboarding quiz to tailor content to user behavior
A central dashboard for debt progress and payment timelines
Interactive budgeting and simulation tools
Bite-sized financial microlearning and helpful daily tips

Impact created

30% improvement in usability, measured through task success rates and reduced navigation friction
4+ MVPs conceptualized, designed, prioritized, and tested with real users and stakeholders
2.3M+ potential users identified through collaboration with government partners and debt organizations
Delivered a scalable system and validated user flows to support future AI-based personalization and feature growth

PROCESS:

Understanding the User problem areas

Product, Market & User Research

The project began with deep generative research to understand the debt challenges faced by Dutch youth and identify gaps in the current system. I conducted:

In-depth Interviews with 15+ young users, social workers, and municipal debt specialists
Contextual inquiries to observe behaviors around debt communication and planning
Desk research on national youth debt statistics and financial stigma
Ecosystem mapping to understand the roles of institutions, users, and intermediaries
A review of survey insights from 45,000+ youth collected by Flanderijn

Persona Insights

Research revealed 8 distinct financial personas among Dutch youth. We used these insights to design features and UI tailored to diverse behaviors—understanding that a Planner interacts with the app very differently than a Spender. This behavioral lens shaped our design decisions to ensure Fynny supports a wide range of financial mindsets and user needs.

The Spender
The Spender enjoys spending money and often prioritizes short-term gratification over long-term financial stability. They may struggle with impulse buying and frequently spend beyond their means, leading to debt or difficulty saving.
Traits:
• Loves shopping and indulging in purchases.
• May struggle with controlling impulse purchases.
• Often relies on credit cards or loans to fund lifestyle choices.
Challenges:
• Difficulty in sticking to a budget.
• Finds it hard to prioritize saving or debt repayment over spending.
How Fynny can help::
• Set up visual spending limits and offer real-time spending alerts.
• Create personalized challenges to limit spending (e.g., “No Spend Week” or savings goals).
• Provide impulse control techniques or offer alternatives to unnecessary spending.
The Planner
The Planner is highly organized and methodical when it comes to their finances. They have a clear understanding of their income, expenses, and financial goals. However, they might sometimes be too rigid and stress out when unexpected financial events occur.
Traits:
• Budget-conscious and disciplined with money.
• Enjoys tracking their progress toward goals.
• Prefers detailed financial planning and structures.
Challenges:
•Difficulty adapting to unexpected expenses or financial setbacks.
• Overly focused on the long term and may struggle with flexibility.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer advanced goal-setting tools and progress trackers.
• Provide tools for handling unforeseen expenses (e.g., emergency fund planning).
• Introduce flexible budgeting tools to manage both long-term plans and day-to-day needs.
The Avoider
The Avoider tends to feel overwhelmed by their finances and often ignores financial problems, leading to procrastination in managing debt or setting financial goals. They might avoid checking their bank balance or bills, fearing bad news.
Traits:
• Avoids looking at their finances or thinking about money.
• Feels anxious when confronted with financial decisions.
• Often unsure of where to start with debt repayment or saving.
Challenges:
• Procrastination in addressing debt or financial issues.
• Lack of awareness of their actual financial situation.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a simple, non-judgmental overview of their finances with small, achievable steps.
• Use gentle, encouraging notifications to remind them to check in on their finances.
• Offer basic education modules to build confidence and reduce financial anxiety.
The Hustler
The Hustler is ambitious and entrepreneurial, often working multiple jobs, side gigs, or freelancing. They are motivated by increasing their income but may neglect long-term financial planning, savings, or managing their debt.
Traits:
• Motivated by growing their income and financial independence.
• Prefers flexibility in managing money due to fluctuating income streams.
• May prioritize earning money over managing money.
Challenges:
• Irregular income can make budgeting difficult.
• Tends to focus on income generation while neglecting debt or savings goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer flexible budgeting tools that account for fluctuating income.
• Provide guidance on balancing income generation with debt repayment and saving.
• Recommend long-term financial planning tools to ensure future stability.
The Debt Warrior
The Debt Warrior is actively working on paying off debt and has made debt reduction their primary financial focus. They are highly motivated to get out of debt but may feel overwhelmed by the size of their debt or struggle to stay on track.
Traits:
• Focused and determined to pay off debt.
• Tracks debt payments closely and is motivated by progress.
• May feel anxious or stressed about the amount of debt they have.
Challenges:
• Can feel demotivated when progress is slow or unexpected expenses arise.
• Struggles to balance paying off debt with other financial goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a clear debt repayment plan with progress tracking and visual milestones.
• Offer motivational tools like rewards or badges for hitting repayment goals.
• Help balance debt repayment with saving or other financial priorities.
The Spender
The Spender enjoys spending money and often prioritizes short-term gratification over long-term financial stability. They may struggle with impulse buying and frequently spend beyond their means, leading to debt or difficulty saving.
Traits:
• Loves shopping and indulging in purchases.
• May struggle with controlling impulse purchases.
• Often relies on credit cards or loans to fund lifestyle choices.
Challenges:
• Difficulty in sticking to a budget.
• Finds it hard to prioritize saving or debt repayment over spending.
How Fynny can help::
• Set up visual spending limits and offer real-time spending alerts.
• Create personalized challenges to limit spending (e.g., “No Spend Week” or savings goals).
• Provide impulse control techniques or offer alternatives to unnecessary spending.
The Planner
The Planner is highly organized and methodical when it comes to their finances. They have a clear understanding of their income, expenses, and financial goals. However, they might sometimes be too rigid and stress out when unexpected financial events occur.
Traits:
• Budget-conscious and disciplined with money.
• Enjoys tracking their progress toward goals.
• Prefers detailed financial planning and structures.
Challenges:
•Difficulty adapting to unexpected expenses or financial setbacks.
• Overly focused on the long term and may struggle with flexibility.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer advanced goal-setting tools and progress trackers.
• Provide tools for handling unforeseen expenses (e.g., emergency fund planning).
• Introduce flexible budgeting tools to manage both long-term plans and day-to-day needs.
The Avoider
The Avoider tends to feel overwhelmed by their finances and often ignores financial problems, leading to procrastination in managing debt or setting financial goals. They might avoid checking their bank balance or bills, fearing bad news.
Traits:
• Avoids looking at their finances or thinking about money.
• Feels anxious when confronted with financial decisions.
• Often unsure of where to start with debt repayment or saving.
Challenges:
• Procrastination in addressing debt or financial issues.
• Lack of awareness of their actual financial situation.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a simple, non-judgmental overview of their finances with small, achievable steps.
• Use gentle, encouraging notifications to remind them to check in on their finances.
• Offer basic education modules to build confidence and reduce financial anxiety.
The Hustler
The Hustler is ambitious and entrepreneurial, often working multiple jobs, side gigs, or freelancing. They are motivated by increasing their income but may neglect long-term financial planning, savings, or managing their debt.
Traits:
• Motivated by growing their income and financial independence.
• Prefers flexibility in managing money due to fluctuating income streams.
• May prioritize earning money over managing money.
Challenges:
• Irregular income can make budgeting difficult.
• Tends to focus on income generation while neglecting debt or savings goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer flexible budgeting tools that account for fluctuating income.
• Provide guidance on balancing income generation with debt repayment and saving.
• Recommend long-term financial planning tools to ensure future stability.
The Debt Warrior
The Debt Warrior is actively working on paying off debt and has made debt reduction their primary financial focus. They are highly motivated to get out of debt but may feel overwhelmed by the size of their debt or struggle to stay on track.
Traits:
• Focused and determined to pay off debt.
• Tracks debt payments closely and is motivated by progress.
• May feel anxious or stressed about the amount of debt they have.
Challenges:
• Can feel demotivated when progress is slow or unexpected expenses arise.
• Struggles to balance paying off debt with other financial goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a clear debt repayment plan with progress tracking and visual milestones.
• Offer motivational tools like rewards or badges for hitting repayment goals.
• Help balance debt repayment with saving or other financial priorities.
The Spender
The Spender enjoys spending money and often prioritizes short-term gratification over long-term financial stability. They may struggle with impulse buying and frequently spend beyond their means, leading to debt or difficulty saving.
Traits:
• Loves shopping and indulging in purchases.
• May struggle with controlling impulse purchases.
• Often relies on credit cards or loans to fund lifestyle choices.
Challenges:
• Difficulty in sticking to a budget.
• Finds it hard to prioritize saving or debt repayment over spending.
How Fynny can help::
• Set up visual spending limits and offer real-time spending alerts.
• Create personalized challenges to limit spending (e.g., “No Spend Week” or savings goals).
• Provide impulse control techniques or offer alternatives to unnecessary spending.
The Planner
The Planner is highly organized and methodical when it comes to their finances. They have a clear understanding of their income, expenses, and financial goals. However, they might sometimes be too rigid and stress out when unexpected financial events occur.
Traits:
• Budget-conscious and disciplined with money.
• Enjoys tracking their progress toward goals.
• Prefers detailed financial planning and structures.
Challenges:
•Difficulty adapting to unexpected expenses or financial setbacks.
• Overly focused on the long term and may struggle with flexibility.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer advanced goal-setting tools and progress trackers.
• Provide tools for handling unforeseen expenses (e.g., emergency fund planning).
• Introduce flexible budgeting tools to manage both long-term plans and day-to-day needs.
The Avoider
The Avoider tends to feel overwhelmed by their finances and often ignores financial problems, leading to procrastination in managing debt or setting financial goals. They might avoid checking their bank balance or bills, fearing bad news.
Traits:
• Avoids looking at their finances or thinking about money.
• Feels anxious when confronted with financial decisions.
• Often unsure of where to start with debt repayment or saving.
Challenges:
• Procrastination in addressing debt or financial issues.
• Lack of awareness of their actual financial situation.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a simple, non-judgmental overview of their finances with small, achievable steps.
• Use gentle, encouraging notifications to remind them to check in on their finances.
• Offer basic education modules to build confidence and reduce financial anxiety.
The Hustler
The Hustler is ambitious and entrepreneurial, often working multiple jobs, side gigs, or freelancing. They are motivated by increasing their income but may neglect long-term financial planning, savings, or managing their debt.
Traits:
• Motivated by growing their income and financial independence.
• Prefers flexibility in managing money due to fluctuating income streams.
• May prioritize earning money over managing money.
Challenges:
• Irregular income can make budgeting difficult.
• Tends to focus on income generation while neglecting debt or savings goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer flexible budgeting tools that account for fluctuating income.
• Provide guidance on balancing income generation with debt repayment and saving.
• Recommend long-term financial planning tools to ensure future stability.
The Debt Warrior
The Debt Warrior is actively working on paying off debt and has made debt reduction their primary financial focus. They are highly motivated to get out of debt but may feel overwhelmed by the size of their debt or struggle to stay on track.
Traits:
• Focused and determined to pay off debt.
• Tracks debt payments closely and is motivated by progress.
• May feel anxious or stressed about the amount of debt they have.
Challenges:
• Can feel demotivated when progress is slow or unexpected expenses arise.
• Struggles to balance paying off debt with other financial goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a clear debt repayment plan with progress tracking and visual milestones.
• Offer motivational tools like rewards or badges for hitting repayment goals.
• Help balance debt repayment with saving or other financial priorities.
The Spender
The Spender enjoys spending money and often prioritizes short-term gratification over long-term financial stability. They may struggle with impulse buying and frequently spend beyond their means, leading to debt or difficulty saving.
Traits:
• Loves shopping and indulging in purchases.
• May struggle with controlling impulse purchases.
• Often relies on credit cards or loans to fund lifestyle choices.
Challenges:
• Difficulty in sticking to a budget.
• Finds it hard to prioritize saving or debt repayment over spending.
How Fynny can help::
• Set up visual spending limits and offer real-time spending alerts.
• Create personalized challenges to limit spending (e.g., “No Spend Week” or savings goals).
• Provide impulse control techniques or offer alternatives to unnecessary spending.
The Planner
The Planner is highly organized and methodical when it comes to their finances. They have a clear understanding of their income, expenses, and financial goals. However, they might sometimes be too rigid and stress out when unexpected financial events occur.
Traits:
• Budget-conscious and disciplined with money.
• Enjoys tracking their progress toward goals.
• Prefers detailed financial planning and structures.
Challenges:
•Difficulty adapting to unexpected expenses or financial setbacks.
• Overly focused on the long term and may struggle with flexibility.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer advanced goal-setting tools and progress trackers.
• Provide tools for handling unforeseen expenses (e.g., emergency fund planning).
• Introduce flexible budgeting tools to manage both long-term plans and day-to-day needs.
The Avoider
The Avoider tends to feel overwhelmed by their finances and often ignores financial problems, leading to procrastination in managing debt or setting financial goals. They might avoid checking their bank balance or bills, fearing bad news.
Traits:
• Avoids looking at their finances or thinking about money.
• Feels anxious when confronted with financial decisions.
• Often unsure of where to start with debt repayment or saving.
Challenges:
• Procrastination in addressing debt or financial issues.
• Lack of awareness of their actual financial situation.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a simple, non-judgmental overview of their finances with small, achievable steps.
• Use gentle, encouraging notifications to remind them to check in on their finances.
• Offer basic education modules to build confidence and reduce financial anxiety.
The Hustler
The Hustler is ambitious and entrepreneurial, often working multiple jobs, side gigs, or freelancing. They are motivated by increasing their income but may neglect long-term financial planning, savings, or managing their debt.
Traits:
• Motivated by growing their income and financial independence.
• Prefers flexibility in managing money due to fluctuating income streams.
• May prioritize earning money over managing money.
Challenges:
• Irregular income can make budgeting difficult.
• Tends to focus on income generation while neglecting debt or savings goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Offer flexible budgeting tools that account for fluctuating income.
• Provide guidance on balancing income generation with debt repayment and saving.
• Recommend long-term financial planning tools to ensure future stability.
The Debt Warrior
The Debt Warrior is actively working on paying off debt and has made debt reduction their primary financial focus. They are highly motivated to get out of debt but may feel overwhelmed by the size of their debt or struggle to stay on track.
Traits:
• Focused and determined to pay off debt.
• Tracks debt payments closely and is motivated by progress.
• May feel anxious or stressed about the amount of debt they have.
Challenges:
• Can feel demotivated when progress is slow or unexpected expenses arise.
• Struggles to balance paying off debt with other financial goals.
How Fynny can help::
• Provide a clear debt repayment plan with progress tracking and visual milestones.
• Offer motivational tools like rewards or badges for hitting repayment goals.
• Help balance debt repayment with saving or other financial priorities.

Interviews with the target audience, Municipality officials, Debt specialists and volunteer social workers revealed multiple missing system gaps and user pain points.

"I receive so many letters with different debt deadlines from various agencies. I don’t know what I owe, who I owe it to, or when I need to pay them."

Sjoerd Bakker

Municipality of Amsterdam, incharge of youth debt relief

"We have been seeing a trend of users using 'Buy Now Pay Later' excessively with less idea about how the debt keeps piling up along with insurance."

Sjoerd Bakker

Municipality of Amsterdam, incharge of youth debt relief

Information and Flow Audit

Our first step was to map the entire ecosystem of how users currently manage debt. We found:

No centralized system to track debts or deadlines
Overwhelming paperwork from multiple agencies
Stigma around seeking help, especially among youth
Fragmented user touchpoints across municipalities, banks, and agencies

This revealed core opportunity areas:
➡ Centralize debt info
➡ Reduce friction in financial setup
➡ Make debt management feel doable

We conceptualized Fynny's potential features for strategic problem-solving.

The main question arose on how to concise the elaborate research insights, Fynny's goals, our design prioritizations to the user's benefits to strategize Fynny's feature library and its MVPs.

Product Architecture Map

Prioritization for MVPs

I performed card sorting sessions with users to understand what they expect on the app.

Insight 1
Users intuitively group financial tracking data with behavioral insights.

Card sorting Results Dendogram

Insight 2
Users expect actionable data and debt trackings on the home page itself.

Research analysis chart

Onboarding and set-up Flow:

I tried to design the work flow in a process that would seem most intuitive to the user and also take in all essential information for the user to develop the financial dashboard as they onboard the app for the first time.

Financial Management Journey Mappings

The intent of this flow is to guide users through actionable steps for effectively managing their debt while fostering healthy financial habits. By providing structured assistance and practical tools, the flow aims to empower users with the knowledge and resources needed to navigate their financial challenges. Additionally, it offers tailored financial tips to enhance users' financial literacy, enabling them to make informed decisions and achieve long-term stability.

Design Hypotheses

To balance complexity with clarity, we developed two design hypotheses:

1. Action builds confidence

Users who see small wins (e.g., visual debt progress) are more likely to stay engaged.

2. Context reduces friction

Presenting just the right data (budget, payments, tips) at the right time will prevent overload.

Start of Design Explorations

The Journey overview page acts as the Homepage showcasing the users financial journey through payment goals progress, learnings progress, Actionable daily finance tips, and upcoming payments reminders.

The Debt tab showcases the payment plans, quick access to Simulation Calculators and Fynny Bot for contacting debt collection services, and charts for communicating your debt versus spending and income.

Evaluative Research

Early Concern: Financial Data Overload? Finding the right balance.

We balanced concerns about overwhelming users with the need for realistic financial visibility. Two prototypes were tested to find the right approach.

Iteration 1:
65.3% mis-click rates
37.5% drop-off rates
0% direct* success rates

...were observed when essential features were not prominently displayed on main pages, causing users to struggle with navigation and fail to achieve their goals. Card-sorting results confirmed that these features needed to be placed in primary, highly visible areas of the app.

Data analysis from A/B Testing results

Iteration 2:

50% direct success rates

All main action-based financial data and tools need to be on the Home page, and intuitive cross-links must be provided.

Data analysis from A/B Testing results

Design Developments

Iterative design process and attaching research insights led to me understand user needs and include them in the final design stages.

Designing for Scalability and Implementation

In the later stages, I focused on preparing by addressing platform nuances, accessibility needs, and developer integration. These steps helped ensure the design was not only user-centered but also technically feasible, inclusive, and ready for smooth implementation.

Accessibility check-ins

Accessibility was built into the design system from the start, ensuring proper color contrast, readable font sizes, and touch target compliance (44px+).

Preparing for Developer hand-offs

I organized annotated Figma files with clear component naming, redlines, and usage guidelines to simplify hand-off. Regular collaboration with developers ensured alignment on interaction behaviors, responsive states, and edge case handling before the build phase began.

iOS and Android variations

We designed with platform-specific conventions in mind, ensuring a native feel for both iOS and Android users. Component sizing, navigational patterns, and interaction behaviors were tailored according to Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) and Material Design standards.

Core Design Features

Design solution strategies

We translated insights into 4 strategic pillars:

Making debt visible and manageable, support diverse behavioral archetypes.

Centralized dashboard for payments, deadlines, and agency info. Quick cards design style to get a cohesive overview.

Simplify complex financial decisions

Tools like simulation calculators, budget planners, and auto-prioritized to-do lists.

Foster confidence through micro-learning

Bite-sized, gamified content that makes financial literacy feel achievable.

Progressive onboarding to build early trust

Gradually introduces key tasks to reduce overwhelm and help users feel confident from the start.

My key take-aways

Behavior-Aware UX Works

Recognizing different user mindsets—from avoidant to proactive—led to a more empathetic, supportive product experience.

Data + Empathy = Better Design

User interviews and card sorting balanced stakeholder assumptions with actual needs, leading to informed trade-offs.

Cross-Sector Collaboration is a Superpower

Designing with municipal governments taught me how to bridge policy, business, and user goals without losing clarity or inten